Strength vs. Technique

One of the most repeated phrases in jiu jitsu is that technique beats strength. That idea has helped shape jiu jitsu into what it is now.

It is not wrong.

I just think it is incomplete.

Sometimes people hear that and assume strength does not matter.

It does.

Quite a bit, actually.

One way to think about it is like this.

If you and your training partner were exact mirror images of each other in technique, speed, flexibility, and endurance, the stronger one of you would win.

And strength here is not just how much you can lift.

It is how much you can hold.

It is how much you can pull or push.

It is how well you can stop people from moving you.

Think about trying to keep good posture while someone is trying to pull you forward.

Or maintaining your base while someone is trying to sweep you.

Or holding onto a grip just long enough to complete a pass.

Those all require technique.

And most of those techniques will also require some amount of strength.

If you know exactly what to do but your posture collapses anyway, that is not always a technique problem.

If you lose your balance every time someone attacks your base, that may not be a technique problem either.

Sometimes your body simply cannot do what your brain already knows it should.

The opposite is true as well.

You can be incredibly strong, but without good technique you will waste that strength.

You might squeeze harder than you need to.

You might push when you should pull.

You could muscle through movements that would have been easier with better timing.

Strength helps you use your technique effectively.

Technique helps you use your strength efficiently.

Neither one replaces the other.

They make each other better.

As the difference in technique between two people grows, technique becomes more and more important.

A highly skilled grappler will usually find a way around a stronger opponent eventually.

The problem is that "eventually" is not always available.

In training, you might have all evening to solve a puzzle.

In competition, you only have a few minutes.

Strength can make someone harder to sweep.

Harder to hold down.

Harder to submit.

Not because they have better technique, but because your technique still has to overcome the physical challenge in front of you.

The goal does not have to be to become the strongest person in the room.

The goal should be to become strong enough that your technique works the way it was designed to, while continuing to improve the technique that lets you use that strength wisely.

If you have ever thought, "I know what I'm supposed to do. I just can't seem to make it work," do not automatically assume you need a different technique.

Before you start looking for a new answer, make sure you are giving the one you already have enough support.

Strength and technique have never been opponents.

They have always been teammates.

See you on the mats.